A Nigerian 'Soundcloud' artist needs to blow for the culture

These days, the voices from Soundcloud are getting louder, and the music keeps getting better. It’s a blessing to explore the depth and variety of experimental music that inspired kids create outside the dictates of radio and traditional Nigerian audiences.

Odunsi The Engine, Tay Iwar, Lady Donli, and many others are at the fore of the new movement which has been duly dubbed ‘Soundcloud Artists’ or ‘Emerging Sounds’.

A key feature for most of these artists is their networking. These artists have a close-knit system that is beneficial for their art. They lean on each other for inspiration and collaboration, which has yielded some of the best songs for musically curious minds. It is from this movement that we have Nonso Amadi pushing through with new music, and leading the charge for these artists to get more mainstream recognition.

A number of industry heads who have engaged in conversations about this rising movement believe that they are the future, and all they need to validate that assertion is to provide one commercial artist, who would become successful or ‘blow’ with the fusion genres and sound-elevation that they all dabble in.

And yes. These artists do need that one person. Appealing to a niche market is a blessing in itself, but the dream of most artists is to expand the range of their influence, grow their fan base to astronomical heights, and be rewarded both commercially and emotionally for their hardwork. That’s why they need to ‘blow’. That’s why they need one person to push past the barriers, and get the music into audiences that are far removed from Soundcloud and the internet, generally.

While Odunsi The Engine and Lady Donli are critic’s winners, Nonso Amadi is making a killing commercially with his single ‘Tonight’, which has bagged him over a million Spotify streams, and almost half a million Youtube views.

But the industry is a funny place, which is subject to the dictates of the human mind. And while commercial success will be a blessing for these artists, it can also prove to be a curse. A commercially successful artist from Soundcloud will shine more light on his peers but has the potential to break up the movement and fragment the momentum that is being built.

A successful artist inadvertently brings a new dynamic into the movement. His/her presence will be a huge boost for the movement and would enable the disheartened gain new perspective on the struggle. It would inspire and motivate new entrants, and give them reassurance that there’s a commercial light at the end of the tunnel.

And the formula for breaking through will also be valuable too. The rule book for success in the music industry appears to be rigid and set in stone. Very few artists have achieved success by not conforming to those rules. But if a member of this new movement can have a clean break without adhering to these principles, it will be the discovery of a new path. Which would add another layer to the game, and rewrite the rule book on how to find success your own way.